


Sick Day

by MadamRed



Series: 400-Follower Celebration (Tumblr) [11]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Illnesses, Team Dynamics, stomach flu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 18:38:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9337901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamRed/pseuds/MadamRed
Summary: Writing prompts requested on Tumblr: “When was the last time you slept?” & “You may have a very minor case of serious brain damage.”





	

Your hair was damp; it had started drizzling when you left the apartment, but you didn’t have time to go back up and grab your umbrella. You were running late as it was.

Thanks to the rare alignment of the planets, you arrived at the office just five minutes late. With a little bit of more luck on your side, maybe Hotch might let it slide this time. When you got to your desk, Morgan slapped you on the back in congratulations while Prentiss and JJ pretended to clap before going to their own desks. Reid just raised his travel mug in silent praise of your achievement and then sat down as well.

They were celebrating because this was an, unfortunately, normal occurrence. You had a younger brother, Rodrick, who, despite being a teenager already, still needed to be dropped off at school... thirty minutes away from Quantico, on a good traffic day. Your aunt usually came by in the afternoon after work to help you out, but the mornings were a hassle.

‘Two more years, and he’ll at least be in college, (Y/L/N),’ Rossi joined the teasing from his spot on the railing before going back into his office. They sometimes liked betting on how late you were going to be, and Rossi had the best vantage point, along with Hotch, to see your flustered face as you came running into the bullpen.

‘Thanks for the reminder,’ you called out to his retreating form, to which he just laughed in response.

You sighed as you settled down and tackled the pile of paperwork you had from the day before still on your desk. Today was going to be tough... you had a feeling.

The day went by painfully slowly but no major case came, and the team left the office ready to go back home to their loved ones.

When you made it home, however, it wasn’t the usual peaceful scene of your aunt making dinner while your brother did his homework, sitting at the dining table. Nope. Your brother had come down with the stomach flu and had toughened it up during school hours so as not to disturb either of you. Which now led to your aunt trying to take care of a feverish teenager and making dinner for three.

You dropped everything on the floor as you came in and ran to him. The thermometer beeped, and you took it out of his mouth. Just over 100°.

‘Oh, Rod,’ you exclaimed as you went to the bathroom to wet a cloth for his forehead, ‘you should’ve called us. Either of us would’ve come to pick you up right away.’

‘You were late today already because I forgot to set the alarm. It’s fine,’ he told you with the best smile he could give you while trying not to be sick all over the living room floor.

‘Want me to help you to your room?’ you offered, and he nodded.

It was a bit of a struggle but you managed to get him to change and into bed.

‘Try to sleep and call us if you need anything. I’ll come back later with medicine and some soup,’ you said but you were not sure he heard you as his eyes were already closed.

‘Sorry for not calling,’ your aunt told you when you made it back to the kitchen. ‘You know how stubborn he can be and he didn’t want you to worry in case you needed to travel.’

‘It’s okay. Thank you for always being here,’ you gave her a hug and then you helped her finish dinner and the soup for your brother.

However, the night didn’t go so smoothly after that. It turned out that your aunt also got the flu, and you ended up having to take care of them for the rest of the week. By the time Friday finally rolled around, you could barely keep your eyes open.

So much so, that you were standing in front of the coffee machine in the break area, trying to remember how to use it when Rossi came in through the glass doors.

‘Well, this is something you don’t see every day,’ he told you, laughing at seeing you there before anyone else.

Surprisingly, since you were up the entire night to help either your aunt or your brother make the trip to and from the bathroom, you made it to the office in record time. Yet, you hadn’t had the opportunity to have breakfast and were unable to do anything about it in your current state.

When you didn’t say anything back but just continued staring at the machine as if it were an alien object, Rossi left his briefcase on the table and came to stand next to you. He looked at your bare face and at the dark circles under your eyes.

‘(Y/L/N), when was the last time you slept?’ he asked as he started making the coffee you craved so much.

‘Wait, I was about to do that,’ you tried to take the bag from his hands, but he just gestured for you to sit down.

You complied. You had no more energy to fight or even argue at this point.

‘So,’ he said as he sat down a couple of minutes later and put two mugs of steaming coffee on the table, ‘what’s going on?’

‘Rod came down with a stomach flu two days ago, and then my aunt got it. My apartment looks like a war zone and I’ve been juggling work, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. Rossi, there’s so much cleaning to do,’ you put your head in your hands, feeling defeated and utterly exhausted.

‘I can only imagine,’ the senior agent felt compelled to help you out but wasn’t sure how exactly. ‘Why didn’t you take a few days off?’

‘I can’t. Since I’m usually late, Hotch and I reached an agreement, and he slowly takes days out of my holidays. Which is fine because I don’t ever take days off unless I need to, but-’

‘Take the day off,’ Hotch’s voice echoed in the empty bullpen. You hadn’t heard him come in.

‘What? But I don’t have any more available, sir,’ you tried to explain yourself.

‘Then take some of mine. I’m not going to use them anyway,’ Rossi shrugged.

You just sat there, with your mouth hanging slightly open.

‘I’ll go fill the necessary forms. Dave, can you take her home?’ Hotch said and waved you goodbye without waiting for Rossi’s response.

‘Come on,’ he said getting up and grabbing your arm in the process. You were following his words but not fully registering what was going on. ‘You look like you may have a very minor case of serious brain damage from being sleep-deprived for two days, so I’ll drive you home, okay? Your car is in the parking lot?’

You nodded as you grabbed your things, moving in autopilot.

‘Keys?’ he asked once you made it to your car and you handed them to him, and then you were off.

‘Rossi, what about your car?’ you wondered aloud ten minutes into the ride.

‘Wow, I’ve never seen you this slow; you must really be exhausted. It’s at the shop, actually. Had to take a taxi today,’ he explained.

‘Oh, I see. So, how are you getting back to work?’ you turned your head and saw him laughing.

‘I’m not. I’m staying with you and helping you out while you rest.’

He ignored your protests all the way to your apartment where you introduced him to your aunt and brother, who had somewhat recovered and had no more fever.

You reluctantly went to bed, as per Rossi’s instructions, and arose around 2 pm to some sandwiches prepared by said guest.

‘Hey,’ he whispered, thinking you were still asleep.

‘Hi,’ you said as you sat up in bed and stretched.

‘I brought you lunch,’ he put the tray on your lap and grabbed his own plate as he sat at the end of your bed.

‘Thank you, Rossi, for everything,’ you told him sincerely, but he dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

‘Your family just fell asleep again after lunch, so I thought I could bring you something to eat, too. I also didn’t want to disturb them,’ he said as he started eating his share.

‘Let me guess: Rod is on the couch and my aunt on the armchair?’ he nodded, and you laughed for the first time in a few days. ‘Those two. I don’t understand their aversion to beds. Ever since he was little, Rod refused to sleep on his own bed and I would always have to carry him to his room.’

‘And your aunt?’ he asked curiously.

‘Same thing. My grandparents tell the same story every Christmas of how she spent an entire year sneaking out of her room once they had gone to bed and slept on the couch. I swear it’s an actual family trait,’ you both laughed a little and continued to chat about your families’ antics.

You got up after a while and, thanks to Rossi helping you out by going grocery shopping, you cleaned the whole house, did the laundry, and made dinner in record time. You hated to admit it, but it felt nice to have someone to rely on in times of need.

Rossi left, despite your invitation for him to stay over for dinner, but he promised he would come back the next day to check on you and make sure you had rested. You made a mental note to bake something or maybe buy him a good bottle of wine as a way to thank him for everything he did for you and went to bed with a smile on your face, finally relaxed after days of stress.


End file.
